Chapter 400: The Suspect
Chapter 400: The Suspect
"It looks like you've made some new friends!" Albert said softly as he walked past Hermione.
Hermione suddenly lifted her head, her eyes following Albert's retreating back, her expression complex.
"What's wrong?" Ron asked, noticing Hermione's gaze and looking over in confusion.
"Nothing," Hermione shook her head, withdrawing her gaze. In that moment, she suddenly remembered the prophecy Albert had given her.
Before the arrival of the harsh winter, you will no longer be alone. The prophecy had come true! She had indeed found good friends.
"Do you guys think Anderson can really make prophecies?"
"Why would you think that?" Harry asked, puzzled. To be honest, Harry knew next to nothing about prophecies.
"Last time, he told me that before winter comes, I would make good friends," Hermione hesitated but eventually spoke up under the curious gazes of her two friends.
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes. They didn't understand what Hermione meant.
Perhaps it was just a coincidence? And was this even a prophecy? At least, neither Harry nor Ron considered it to be one.
A prophecy should be something grander, they both felt.
"I don't know," Ron hesitated and then said to Hermione, "I don't think he can prophesy. Apparently, there are very few wizards who can predict the future, but Fred and George believe Anderson can. You know, they're good friends."
"I've heard about this," Harry recalled what he'd heard and said to his two companions, "Many students think Albert is just speaking vaguely to make it sound like a prophecy."
Hermione thought Harry's words made sense.
Of course, Harry couldn't be sure if Albert could really prophesy or not.
"Hey Harry, do you remember what Anderson said to you?" Ron suddenly asked, turning to Harry. "The warning, I mean."
"What warning?" Harry was baffled, not understanding what Ron was talking about.
"The warning about Quidditch," Ron reminded him. "Didn't he tell you to be extra careful and not to get yourself into a situation where you can't play?"
"Oh, that!" Harry remembered, "But is that even a prophecy? I thought Wood mentioned that a Slytherin student might try to sabotage me so I can't play in the match."
"They don't know how well you can play Quidditch, but it seems like Albert already knew you'd be good," Hermione recalled, "He said something like, if Gryffindor wants to win the Quidditch Cup this year, we'll have to overcome some obstacles."
"Hermione, don't listen to his nonsense," Ron didn't want to dwell on such things and felt Anderson was just speaking off the cuff. He couldn't understand why Hermione took it seriously.
"Did Albert really say that?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice piped up beside Harry.
"What?"
"Did Albert really say we'd face obstacles in winning the Quidditch Cup?" Angelina asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I think so," Harry replied.
"Then you should be careful, Harry," Angelina looked at him seriously. "Since Albert warned you to be cautious, it means these so-called obstacles might target you specifically."
In truth, Angelina didn't believe in prophecies either, but Fred and George always said Albert's words were accurate, and the three of them believed that what Albert said might very well come true. So she figured there was no harm in being a little cautious.
Watching Angelina walk away, Harry became even more perplexed. Could Albert really predict the future?
"Oh, by the way, I remembered something." Ron suddenly recalled something and whispered to his two friends, "A few days ago, Fred and George mentioned something about Snape limping."
"Snape is limping?" Harry was intrigued; any misfortune that befell Snape was a source of joy for him.
"They said that Albert mentioned something about Snape having bad luck and shedding blood before Halloween." Ron shrugged, "And the next day, guess what? Snape was bitten by a dog."
"Snape was bitten by a dog?" Harry asked excitedly, "How did that happen?"
"What have you got there, Potter?"
A cold voice interrupted them, and Harry turned to see Snape limping towards them, his expression dark as he had obviously overheard Harry's comment about him being bitten.
"It's 'Quidditch Through the Ages'," Harry showed the book to Snape.
"You are not allowed to dirty the library books," Snape said coldly, pointing at the crumbs on the book, "Five points from Gryffindor."
"Was he really bitten by a dog?"
Harry was unhappy about Snape's excuse to deduct points from Gryffindor, but he was more curious about how Snape had been bitten.
"Where did a dog come from in school? Could it be Fang?" Harry wondered aloud.
"I have no idea. But I heard he was in a lot of pain, which is fantastic." Ron couldn't help but gloat. To him, Snape's misfortune was a source of endless amusement, and he didn't care about the details.
"Don't forget, there's a large dog on the restricted corridor on the fourth floor," Hermione reminded them. She hadn't forgotten about the huge dog that had scared her so much.
"That's right, now I remember," Harry jumped up, noticing the curious glances he was attracting and quickly lowering his voice, "Remember during Halloween when the troll entered the school?"
Ron paused, recalling the events of a few days ago.
Harry continued, "We saw Snape heading towards the third floor by himself. I'd bet my Nimbus Two Thousand that Snape let the troll into the castle to distract the professors so that he could..."
"Are you saying Snape wanted to get past that three-headed dog and steal whatever it's guarding?" Ron interjected, understanding Harry's train of thought.
"No—he wouldn't," Hermione disagreed, not sharing their judgment of Snape, "I know Snape is not very likeable, but that doesn't mean he's stupid. And I don't believe he could steal something right under Dumbledore's nose."
"To be honest, Hermione, you always think all the teachers are... saints," Ron had no positive feelings towards Snape whatsoever.
"No, that's not related to this," Hermione sighed at Ron's expression, "Come on, Ron, use your brain. Why would Dumbledore keep something so important in Hogwarts if he didn't consider such problems and take precautions?"
(End of Chapter)
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